1 Nephi 15: A Commentary

1 Nephi 15 will be herein commented on.  We will see what other Prophets and Apostles have said to corroborate the Book of Mormon's admonitions.

Rod of Iron

In verses 23-24, we read, "And [Laman and Lemuel] said unto [Nephi]: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?  And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction."

The word of God is the scriptures.  Nephi here states that if we cleave unto the scriptures, we will never perish.  I take him at his word, but how is this so?  Presidents Joseph Smith, Junior, and Ezra Taft Benson have the answer.  President Joseph Smith said, "“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book. (Book of Mormon: Introduction)"  President Smith was here talking about the correctness of the Book's doctrine - that it would lead the humble follower of Christ to the truth.

President Ezra Taft Benson also elaborated on the power of the word of God, specifically the Book of Mormon, when he said, "Its testimony of the Master is clear, undiluted, and full of power.  But it does even more.  Much of the Christian world today rejects the divinity of the Savior.  They question His miraculous birth, His perfect life, and the reality of His glorious resurrection.  The Book of Mormon teaches in plain and unmistakable terms about the truth of all of those.  It also provides the most complete explanation of the Atonement.("The Keystone of Our Religion", Ensign, January 1992)"

River of Water

Verses 26-30 read as follows:

 

And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw?  And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.  And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.  And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.  And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.

The gulf mentioned by Nephi is what divides the spirits in Spirit Prison from those in Spirit Paradise.  Nephi then goes on to mention that the justice of God also separates the wicked from the righteous; this is not to say that they cannot pass out of Hell (or Spirit Prison).  The Lord through Peter has stated that the Gospel is preached to the dead, 

 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 3:18-21)

Our beloved Apostle Paul also alludes to the fact that the Gospel is preached unto the dead, when he uses the doctrine of baptism for the dead (which the ancient Saints practiced) to prove the Resurrection.  Said he, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? (1 Cor. 15:29)"  The words of Nephi in concert with Peter and Paul's words, give extra proof to the validity of the doctrine of baptism for the dead.

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and the only true and living Church upon the earth.  I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that if we give heed to His words, we will be led aright.  I know the Lord had provided the scriptures for us to learn of Him and His teachings.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

A Virtual Tour of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple

The newly rebuilt Nauvoo Illinois Temple is a marvel to behold.  It is the only Temple in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to have a bell tower.  The bell in the tower was cast in Holland, and is programmed to strike with the timing of the clock.

The recommend desk is at the front of the temple, where patrons show their recommends to enter the temple.

After showing the temple recommends, patrons can look into the Assembly Room.  I was told by a Temple Worker that the Assembly Room takes up approximately three-quarters of the ground floor of the temple, can seat 500 people, and is used twice a year for devotionals, and also on special occasions as directed by the President of the Church.  Below is pictured the East Pulpits of the Assembly Room on the first floor.  When the temple was dedicated on 27 June 2002 President Hinckley and Monson sat on the brown bench at the lowest West pulpits ("Dedication of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple", Lisle Brown, users.marshall.edu).  The East Pulpits are pictured below, but the West are identical. 

After the Assembly Room has been seen in all its magnificence, the Spiral Staircase is then ascended.  The first tier of circular windows (the second floor) is where the dressing rooms are located.  After one is dressed, the Spiral Staircase is ascended again, this time to the second tier of arched windows where the Endowment Rooms are located.

The Spiral Staircase from just above the Second floor

On the Third floor is located all the Endowment Rooms.  The following are the rooms in order as seen during the Endowment.

Creation Room

Garden Room

World Room

Unfortunately, I could not find a picture of the Terrestrial Room for the Nauvoo Temple.  If anyone knows where I can find one, the help would be much appreciated.

Here is the Celestial Room.  Notice the Pentagrams and Morning Stars carved into the walls.  Also, a variation of the Sunstones are carved here, too.  If you look closely on the table in the center of the Room (with the flower as the centerpiece), you will notice that the feet of the table are rams' heads.  On a side note, when the Latter-day Saints rebuilt this temple, care was taken to ensure that the furnishings were as close to the look of the 1840s as possible. 

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple holds the prize as having the largest Baptistry out of all the Temples because the LDS Church simply reconstructed it as it was in 1846.

I hope the reader has gained a greater appreciation of the House of the Lord, the Endowments found therein, and Jesus the Christ.

A Virtual Tour of the Salt Lake Temple

The Salt Lake Temple is the flagship temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Within this post we will examine pictures of the interior of the House of the Lord and, from Scripture, find where in the Bible our doctrine is found, as well as explain the nature of the Endowment ceremony.  We will begin from the ground up, literally.  We proceed posthaste!

Above we have the Baptistry of the Salt Lake Temple.  From 1st Kings 7:23-25 we read,

And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.  And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.  It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

Although there is no reference in the Old Testament to the ordinance of baptism, it is clear from the early chapters in the New Testament that baptism was indeed practiced by the Jews before the coming of Christ, as evident by John the Baptist (who was Jewish) baptizing Jesus Christ (who was also Jewish).  After the Atonement, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is clearly evident from writings of Paul and Peter, the chief Apostle, that baptism for the dead was indeed practiced by the 1st century Christians (see 1 Cor. 15:29 and 1 Peter 3:19-21 respectively), thus granting salvation to as many as possible at that time.

Above we have the Creation Room of the Salt Lake Temple.  Herein Latter-day Saints learn about the purpose behind the creation of the earth, and the nature of Adam and Eve before they were formally introduced into the Garden of Eden.  From scripture we read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen 1:1).

Here we have the Garden Room of the Salt Lake Temple.  From scripture we read, "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Gen 2:8).  In the 15th verse of the same chapter we read, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."  During instruction in this room, temple patrons learn this important truth taught by father Lehi in the Book of Mormon,  

And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden.  And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.  And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.  But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.  Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy (2 Nephi2:22-25).

From this room one proceeds to the World Room, seen below:

 

The above room represents the corrupt, wicked, degenerate, and fallen world in which we now live and must toil in all the days of our lives.  The Holy Bible speaks of the time immediately after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their eating the forbidden fruit.  The Bible states,

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:  Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Gen. 3:22-24).

We learn from modern revelation that Adam and his wife were then taught of the coming of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.  In the World Room, Church members make covenants with God of sacrifice and chastity to one's spouse.

Above next is the Terrestrial Room, spoken of by Paul to the Corinthians.  "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Cor 15:40-42).  Within these walls covenants are made to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to concecrate one's all to the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth, which Kingdom is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with Christ as King.  At the end of the presentation, patrons go through the veil, or curtain, that separates one symbolically from the presence of God.  I will not give a recitation of scripture here, but just say that before the Atonement of Jesus Christ, only the High Priest could enter through the veil, and this only once a year.  At the death of Jesus Christ, the veil of the Jerusalem Temple was rent in twain, symbolizing the rending assunder of the Mosaic Law with its fulfillment through Jesus the Christ (Mark 15:38).  The temple Endowment ceremony up to this point is instructive in motivating and encouraging one ever upward towards God's presence.  After a short test at the veil, the Celestial Room is entered, seen below.

The 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians, verses 40-42, was mentioned before, with Paul speaking of glories of the Sun, Moon, and Stars.  The Celestial Room, as seen above, is symbolic of the glory of the Sun and God's presence.  No instruction is given herein, but rather is a place of contemplation as one ponders upon the covenants one has made with the Lord.  Looking at the picture above again, the open room to the far right is what is known as a Sealing Room. 

Above is a Sealing Room, so aptly named because it is here that a man and a woman can be married (or "sealed") for not only this life, but for all eternity.  This is the highest and holiest ordinance that patrons of the temple go through.  This is the main purpose for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - to unite families both here and in the hereafter for eternity.  Let Matt 16:19 explain.  The Savior said to Peter and the rest of the Twelve Apostles, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  No other church the world over can legitimately claim this authority.  The only church  which can do so, and do so legitimately, is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Taken from the Aaronic (West) pulpits of the Salt Lake Temple Assembly Room, looking to the Melchizedek (West) pulpits.  (Found in Hinckley, Gordon B., "Why These Temples?" Ensign, August 1974, 44).

The above picture is of the Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits in the fourth-floor Assembly Room of the Salt Lake Temple.  The First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy meet in this room monthly.  Of these monthly meetings, President N. Eldon Tanner wrote of what goes on there.  Wrote he,

On the first Thursday of every month the First Presidency meets with all the General Authorities—the members of the Twelve, the Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopric. In this meeting all are advised of any changes in programs or procedures and instructed in their duties or responsibilities. The President calls on members to bear their testimonies, after which we all dress in our temple clothes, partake of the sacrament, and have a prayer circle with all members present participating. At the conclusion of the prayer all, other than the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, are dismissed, and those remaining change to their street clothes and carry on with the regular business of the Thursday meetings ("The Administration of the Church", Ensign, November 1979).

The above room is the Council Room of the Presidency of the Seventy, which Council consists of seven men who preside over the current eight Quorums of the Seventy now extant.  The Presidency meet here weekly on Thursdays.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles meet in the above Council Room every Thursday morning to deliberate together with the Lord as to the workings of His Kingdom on Earth.

The Twelve also meet in this room, pictured above, on Thursday mornings with the Council of the First Presidency.  President N. Eldon Tanner wrote of what occurs here.  Said he,

It is in this room that the leadership of the Church has been directed by the Lord since the temple was completed. Here one experiences a special spiritual feeling, and at times senses the presence of some of these great leaders who have gone on before. Portraits of the twelve Presidents of the Church, and also of Hyrum, the Patriarch, hang on the walls. There are also paintings of the Savior at the Sea of Galilee where he called some of his apostles, and others portraying his crucifixion and his ascension. Here we are reminded of the many great leaders who have sat in this council room, and under the direction of the Lord great decisions were made.

As the First Presidency enters this room at ten o’clock on Thursday mornings, we shake hands with all members of the Twelve, then change to our temple robes. We sing, kneel in prayer, and then join in a prayer circle at the altar, after which we change to our street clothes ("The Administration of the Church", Ensign, November 1979).

It was in this room where the ban on blacks and the Priesthood was lifted, occurring on 1 June 1978. 



I hope this explains the purpose of temple more clearly, both through the use of scripture and logic.

Mormon Theology no. 10 - The House of the Lord and Baptism for the Dead

The most confusing practice of the LDS Church to outsiders is baptism for the dead.  What is this practice?  Why do Latter-day Saints practice it?  Is it in conformity with Biblical doctrine?  Why do we need Houses of the Lord in which to do the ritual, anyway?  Aren't we all free to choose the way we live?  In this essay, we will have all these questions answered.


NEED FOR BAPTISM
The Savior said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5)."  When the Savior came to John, John at first refused to baptize him.  The Lord said, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness (Matt 3:15)."  What does it mean to "fulfill all righteousness"?  A prophet from the Book of Mormon tells us what that means, and gives us the reason all - both living and dead - need baptism.  Said Nephi:  

"And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!  And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfill all righteousness in being baptized by water?  Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.  Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.  And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them (2 Nephi 31:5-9)"

Here we find, from both the Savoir and Nephi, the doctrine of the need of baptism, and that the Book of Mormon confirms the Biblical doctrine of the need of all to be baptized.  What does baptism for the dead have to do with anything, and why do we need a temple in which to do so?

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD AND BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD
 As we stated in our last essays (particularly essay VIII), The Lord gave his ancient Apostles the authority to seal on earth and in heaven.  Before the Lord was crucified he said, "Verily, Verily I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live (John 5:25)", because before this He had said that "except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5)."  Thus it is seen that Jesus Himself intimated the need for all to hear the gospel - both living and dead.  The Apostle Paul also said, "Else what shall they do, which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead" (I Cor. 15:29)?  Of this verse, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that “the Apostle was talking to a people who understood baptism for the dead, for it was practiced among them" (The Words of Joseph Smith, comp. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, 1980), p. 49).  And so it was.

Baptismal font in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple

After the Great Apostasy, the Lord restored the practice of baptism for the dead.  It was publicly announced at the funeral of Seymore Brunson in the fall of 1840 by the Prophet Joseph Smith.  The doctrine was subsequently practiced in the Nauvoo Temple in 1841 and in the Endowment House from 1855 to 1889, when the House was razed.  It has been practiced in ever temple continually since the dedication of the St. George Utah Temple on 6 April 1844.  Of the necessity of building a Temple, Joseph Smith said,

What was the object of gathering the … people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose … Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles. . . . It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings, etc. One of the ordinances of the house of the Lord is baptism for the dead. God decreed before the foundation of the world that that ordinance should be administered in a font prepared for that purpose in the house of the Lord. . . . (History of the Church, 5:423–25, 427)

CHOICE IN ACCEPTANCE
Although the Lord and his Apostles and other Servants have taught the need that all men need baptism by proper authority in order to be saved, they have also taught all people have freedom to choose.  Agency is as active beyond the veil as it is here on Earth.  The dead have the ability to choose to accept the vicarious rites done on their behalf.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said,  

Some have misunderstood and suppose that deceased souls 'are being baptised into the Mormon faith without their knowledge' or that 'people who once belonged to other faiths can have the Mormon faith retroactively imposed on them.'  They assume that we somehow have power to force a soul in matters of faith.  Of course, we do not.  God gave man his agency from the beginning.  'The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,' but only if they accept those ordinances (Ensign, Nov 2000, 9–11).

That is the most clear explanation of agency regarding baptism for the dead I have read.

Because God loves all people and wants all to be saved, He has given The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and only that Church - the authority to act in His name and be instruments in the salvation of the human family.  All this is done in the Name of Jesus Christ because He it was who atoned for our sins.  He has said, "Behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:30)."  The Church will fulfill that mandate.  I know it is the word of the Lord.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.